Jeanie Chung hopes something small will spark a big change.
"I developed a test kit that’s all encompassed, convenient [and] discreet that particularly people who use recreational drugs can keep on hand in the case that they might need to test their drug," Chung said.
Chung is the co-founder of TaeSun. She came up with the idea for the kit in 2021.
"I resorted back to my basic science background with the constant desire to help people and as part of our medical training is to help people," Chung explained. "Keep people healthy."
Chung said she's been practicing medicine for the last 23 years but is donning a new hat as a drug testing product developer.
"There are things you have to consider [such as] size, type of plastic, amount of water, how much residue of the drug you need because you’re testing illicit drugs, they’re not quality controlled," Chung said.
She isn't working alone. Chung pitched her idea to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and was selected to take part in its 'substance use disorder start-up' challenge.
"My background is medicine, science and not necessarily bringing a product to market and knowing the business aspects of bringing something like this," Chung said.
While Chung is motivated by caring for others, her mission to create TaeSun is much more personal.
"I lost my 19-year-old son Jackson to fentanyl," Chung said. "Unbeknownst to him, he was given a pill with enough fentanyl to kill a horse."
Chung said her son's death inspired TaeSun in more ways than one.
"TaeSun is the name of the product [and] that was his middle name. It’s a Korean middle name but it also has Tae and Sun meaning the Sun," Chung shared. "He was like the sun that people revolved around so I felt it was fitting to name it after him, in honor of him."
Chung said she knows there are already too many families that share a story similar to hers.
"Obviously having gone through the experience myself, you know, you want to do what you can to help others so they don’t have to potentially experience what my family [and] Jack’s friends have gone through. It impacts us in such unspeakable ways," Chung said.
Chung has seen the support for her son through a GoFundMe she created to help fund the future of TaeSun. In one month, more than $20,000 was raised.
She said her goals are to keep pricing low and make the product as accessible as possible. She hopes to maintain control and not have to bring in investors.
Luckily, she's been selected for the next round of NIDA's start-up challenge, securing $7,000 for the business.
"Part of it is education and part of that is providing tools to keep people safe," Chung said. "I think had we had more knowledge back then [for] what was happening in our country, I think it could have helped a lot more people be safe."
Chung currently only has a prototype, but she does have an active website. With NIDA's funding, she'll also be able to bring her product to test groups.
"There’s so many people in this space trying to make a difference from working on AI product to alternative opioids to helping people in recovery to prevent relapse, so there are many different aspects in this field to help people," Chung said. "Mine is just a very small part of it."
Chung hopes her product will be available soon so families won't have to grieve the tragic consequences from one of America's deadliest drugs.
"I think if you ask any parent who have lost their children, it stays with you for the rest of your life," Chung said. "You never get over it. You may go through different stages, but hopefully something positive can come out of this grief."